


So Come On, Talk it Out (your voice brought me back from the dead)

by buoyantsaturn



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Dialogue Heavy, Fluff, M/M, Pre-The Burning Maze (Trials of Apollo), The Trials of Apollo Spoilers, the only spoilers are like. the solangelo scenes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:35:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27371287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buoyantsaturn/pseuds/buoyantsaturn
Summary: A relaxing date between Nico and Will the spring before Tower of Nero.
Relationships: Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 32
Kudos: 201





	So Come On, Talk it Out (your voice brought me back from the dead)

**Author's Note:**

> hello!! please feel free to read this little bit of fluff whenever you need to relieve your stress for a few minutes today or tomorrow or whenever you need it!! enjoy and im here to talk if you need it!
> 
> title from native tongue by paramore

The air was finally warming up late that spring. The snow had all melted a few weeks back, but it had still been too cold to stay outside for more than an hour or two. It definitely hadn’t been warm enough for a pseudo-picnic under the shade of a tree, but now it finally was. And it would probably be their only chance to do so before summer rolled in and brought a hundred kids back to camp. 

Nico had kicked off his shoes and socks before laying his head down in Will’s lap as the son of Apollo sat upright against the trunk of the tree. Nico planted his feet firmly in the grass, and Will cringed at the sight. 

“You’re just going to stick your feet in the grass like that?” he asked.

Nico shrugged as best he could in his current position. “Yeah, so what? It makes me feel more...grounded, more connected to everything.” 

Will snorted. “Yeah, connected to feeling like you’ve got bugs crawling over your feet.” 

“That doesn’t even make sense.” 

Will poked him in the forehead.  _ “You _ don’t make sense.” Nico snatched Will’s hand away and brought it toward his mouth, biting down gently on the side of Will’s hand before Will could rip it away. “Hey! I thought we agreed on a nice, relaxing date! Relaxing does  _ not _ include  _ biting.” _

Nico reached up and squished the tip of Will’s nose down with a single finger. “No,  _ you _ agreed on a relaxing date. I already took you on one last week.” 

Will scoffed, and swatted at Nico’s hand. “Almost dropping me in a vat of  _ Cheez Whiz _ in Venezuela is  _ not _ relaxing!  _ And _ I ran out of KitKats, so you couldn’t even get your energy up enough to bring us back here!” 

A smile started to creep its way onto Nico’s face, and he started to brush his fingers across Will’s cheek. “I still can’t believe you committed a  _ crime _ for me.” 

“Well, what was I supposed to do?” Will demanded, waving his arms frantically. “They wouldn’t accept my drachmas and didn’t speak English, and  _ you--! _ You couldn’t even open your eyes long enough to see where we were! What was I supposed to do,  _ not _ steal a few KitKats?”

Nico’s smile was full blown as he gazed up at Will with hearts in his eyes. “So you agree: best date ever, and I win.” 

Will started to laugh - a little bit in shock that Nico would even think that, but also finding it hard not to crack up at the absurdity of their conversation. What other fifteen year old had ever stolen KitKats from some shop in Venezuela to restore his significant other’s magic powers so that they could teleport back home? He almost sounded crazy!

“No,” Will told him, still laughing.  _ “Not _ the best date ever! And definitely not relaxing! I wanted to, like, sit together like this, and maybe share some snacks and play twenty questions. Not  _ run from cops in Venezuela.” _

Nico’s nose scrunched up - something Will had recently learned his did when he was confused - and Will wanted to kiss the wrinkles away. “Why would we play twenty questions?”

“To get to know each other. Duh.” 

Nico tipped his head back and met Will’s eyes, frowning slightly. “Do we...not already know each other?” 

“Well, we  _ do,” _ Will replied, his head tipping to the side, “but not  _ everything. _ I don’t even know your middle name.” 

“Yeah, so? I don’t know yours either.” 

Will grinned. “And that’s why we play! Tell me your middle name.” 

Nico rolled his eyes, but answered, “Vincenzo.” 

Will hummed. “Nico Vincenzo di Angelo… I know you’re Italian, Death Boy, but that’s a lot of o’s.”

Nico pursed his lips and turned his head away, gazing out toward the lake. After a moment, he said, “Actually it’s…  _ Niccolo _ Vincenzo di Angelo.” 

“Your name is  _ Niccolo?  _ That’s so cute!” Will repeated the name to himself a few times in his head, and then gasped. “Like  _ piccolo! _ Oh my gods, Nico, can I call you piccolo?” 

Nico leveled him with a glare so strong that it could’ve made flowers wilt on the spot, but Will didn’t so much as flinch. “Absolutely not.” 

Will lifted a hand and started to brush his fingers through Nico’s hair. He leaned into the touch, despite how angry he was pretending to be. “Okay, so only in private, then.” 

“No! Never!” 

Will simply continued to smile down at him, carding his fingers through Nico’s hair and gently releasing tangles in the curls. He wondered if Nico’s hair would curl up even more if it was shorter, but they’d both gotten fond of the length. “It’s your turn to ask,” Will reminded him softly after a few short moments of silence. 

Nico crossed his arms with a huff, and looked away again - though only with his eyes this time, as though not to dislodge Will’s hand from his head. “Same question.” 

Will hesitated. “Can you call  _ me _ piccolo?”

At least Will’s brief moment of stupidity brought a smile back to Nico’s face. “No, your middle name.” 

“Oh! It’s Andrew. William Andrew Solace.” 

Nico repeated the name, whispering it to himself, and Will felt his heart skip a beat at the sound. Then, Nico’s hand searched out Will’s - the one that wasn’t twirling curls around his fingers - and laced their fingers together. He met Will’s eyes as he said, “William Andrew Solace, I want you to know that if you  _ ever _ betray me, I  _ will _ use your full name to embarrass you as payback.” 

Will’s smile only brightened. “Why would I ever betray you?” 

Nico shrugged again. “You might not even realize it when it happens. I’m not talking about any big stakes. I mean, like… Like if Sherman’s on the lava course, and you  _ don’t _ tell me so I can avenge my loss against him.  _ That’s _ a betrayal.” 

“You really are kind of a sore loser, huh.” 

“I am  _ not!” _

Will nodded. “Uh huh. Okay, Piccolo.” 

Nico ripped his hand out of Will’s and used it to smack at his arm. “Shut  _ up!” _

With his hand now free, Will was able to reach into the backpack he’d brought with him, and pulled out a clementine. He took away his other hand, causing Nico to sigh in disappointment, though Will didn’t tease him for it. If the sudden blush on his face was anything to go by, then Nico hadn’t intended to make a sound at all. Will laid one arm across Nico’s chest, the other held over Nico’s head as he reached around him to peel the clementine. 

“Where was the first place you shadow traveled to?” Will asked. 

Nico paused to think, one of his hands coming up almost subconsciously to curl his fingers around Will’s arm. “Uh, China, I think? I don’t really remember. I kinda...jumped, and then immediately passed out. I think Minos said I was out for, like, three days, and then I just jumped back.” 

“You went all the way to  _ China? _ And you didn’t bring any KitKats?” 

Nico pinched his arm. “We  _ just _ learned about the KitKat thing a month ago, Will. Whatever. Um, did you have any pets before you came to camp?” 

Will grinned at the change of subject. “I did! I had a golden retriever, and her name was Sandy.” He dropped the clementine peel into the grass and broke the fruit into pieces. He took one small piece and held it out for Nico.

“No thanks,” Nico told him.

“You haven’t eaten since yesterday,” Will reminded him.

“I went without eating for a week when I was in that jar.” 

“Yeah, and I wish you would stop reminding me of that, because it just makes me want to feed you even more. So, open up!” 

Nico rolled his eyes, but allowed his mouth to drop open so that Will could feed him the slice of clementine. Nico’s face scrunched up as he chewed. “It’s kinda sour.” 

Will ate his own slice, and shrugged. “Not really. You just haven’t eaten a fruit in over a year and forgot what it’s supposed to taste like.”

“Uh,  _ pomegranates  _ are fruit, and I--”

“Ate those in the jar, I know,” Will cut in, “but you were in a trance and probably didn’t even taste them, so that doesn’t count.” 

Nico huffed. “Whatever.” Still, he opened his mouth when Will placed another slice of clementine at his lips. 

“Have you ever thought about getting a tattoo?” Will asked.

Nico shook his head, gently rolling it back and forth over Will’s thigh. “Nah, I’ve been stabbed with a knife before and that wasn’t great, so I don’t think I need to get stabbed with a thousand tiny needles. Why, have you?” 

Will frowned. “Okay, we’re going to circle back to  _ that _ later, but yes, I have.”

“What were you thinking of getting?” 

Will moved the few remaining clementine pieces into one hand, and placed the other on Nico’s chest. He drew a circle with his finger directly over Nico’s heart and said, “Right here, I want to get a sun.” 

“Why’s that? Are you afraid people won’t think you’re sunshiney enough because of the...everything about you?” 

Will flicked him in the chest, right in the center of the circle he’d drawn. He smiled as he lifted his gaze out toward the lake - he was worried about something, Nico could tell that much just by looking at him.

“I’ve been thinking about my dad a lot recently,” Will started, his voice hushed as though he was sharing a secret. “I haven’t heard from him in so long and I’m...worried about what’s going to happen if he doesn’t make it. I’m worried about the state of the world, first and foremost, don’t get me wrong, but… What about me? Do  _ I  _ lose everything? Will I still be able to heal? Or use any of my other powers?” 

He dropped his gaze again, eyes focused on the spot on Nico’s chest where his fingers had started to circle again. “So I want that tattoo as, like, a way to remember him, and a way to remember that part of myself, just in case things don’t go as planned.” 

Nico covered Will’s hand with his own, and brought it up to his lips so that he could press a kiss to his knuckles. “Whatever happens, you’ll always be my sunshine.” 

Will smiled at him sweetly and said, “Who are you, and what have you done with my significant annoyance?”

Nico huffed and threw Will’s hand away. “Way to ruin the moment.” 

“Just ask me another question, would you?” Will asked, and popped another piece of clementine into his mouth. There was just one left - he’d give it to Nico.

“It’s not my turn,” Nico told him.

“Oh, yeah.” Will fed him the clementine and tipped his head back against the tree as he thought. “What’s your favorite movie?” 

“I dunno, I don’t watch a lot of movies,” Nico replied. “I don’t really have the attention span for that, so I haven’t seen...any?” 

Will’s jaw dropped. “You haven’t seen  _ Star Wars?” _

Nico hesitated. “Uh, no? I think Percy said I didn’t need to see it anyway, because there’s apparently some other Star-something movies that are better.” 

“Star  _ Trek?” _ Will shrieked. “Absolutely  _ not! _ The Apollo cabin is a Star Wars family, and I will not stand for this kind of slander. For our next date, we’re watching the original trilogy.” 

“Woah, hang on a second!” Nico held up his thumb between them. “First of all, I get to pick our next date.” He raised his index finger. “Second, I  _ just _ said I can’t even sit through one movie, and you want me to watch  _ three? _ I don’t think so.” He added his middle finger. “And  _ third-- _ Uh, no actually, I don’t think I have a third point.” 

“Okay, then  _ two _ dates from now, we’ll watch Episode Four, and then another two dates later, we’ll watch Episode Five--”

“Why wouldn’t we start with the first episode?” Nico asked. “Wait, and I thought these were  _ movies. _ Actually, no, never mind. Whatever, as long as it makes you happy.” 

Will smiled. “It will.” 

“So, I assume that’s your favorite movie.” 

Will hummed an affirmative. He started to stroke Nico’s hair once again, and Nico’s eyes slipped shut at the feeling. “You gotta ask me another question,” Will whispered. 

Nico cracked one eye open. “I just did.” 

“That wasn’t a question, it was an assumption. And besides, I can’t think of another one, so you go.” 

Nico rolled his eyes. “Oh, like I can? This game was your idea, Solace.” He let his eyes fall shut again, though there was a tiny wrinkle between his brows that let Will know he was trying to think. “What other powers do you have?”

Will tapped his fingers against Nico’s skull a few times, and then resumed playing with his hair. “Well, you know about the healing, and my sonic whistle. And, uh, I don’t know if this is a power, really, but I’m good at calming people down. And I can, um.” He cleared his throat, and Nico opened his eyes to see that Will was looking everywhere and anywhere that wasn’t at Nico. “Glow. So what other powers do  _ you _ have?” 

Nico sat up instantly. “Hang on, did you just say you can  _ glow?” _ He turned to face Will, clutching his hands in his own and demanding, “Show me!” 

Will’s cheeks were turning pink, and he still wouldn’t meet Nico’s eyes. “It’s-- I can’t, it’s too bright out here, so you wouldn’t be able to see it anyway, and… I dunno, it’s embarrassing.” 

“No way, it’s not embarrassing, it’s  _ cool. _ Just show me!” 

Will sighed, and his eyes flickered up to meet Nico’s for just a second before he looked away again. “Fine, but only for a second. Can you try to make it a bit darker? It’ll show up better that way.” 

Nico released Will’s hands and dropped his own to the ground. The shadow of the tree they sat under stretched and darkened, and the air around them grew cold enough that Nico wished he had a jacket. Will started to take off his flannel shirt, and Nico was half-tempted to reach out for it and put it on himself when he saw Will hold out his arms and close his eyes. A moment later, his skin turned from bronze to gold, each of his freckles acting as little flashlights to let the light escape from beneath Will’s skin.

Nico grinned. “That’s  _ so _ cool!” 

Will let the glow fade, and he pulled his flannel back on as Nico released his hold on the shadow. “It’s really nothing special,” Will muttered.

“Yes it is!” Nico insisted, waving his arms around for emphasis. “I have my own personal glow-in-the-dark boyfriend!” 

Will’s head snapped up, his eyes locking on Nico’s as his jaw dropped open again. “Did you… Did you just say  _ boyfriend?” _

Nico’s cheeks had developed a bit of their own blush, but he refused to look away. “I… Yeah, I did. Is that okay?” 

Will beamed, reaching out for one of Nico’s hands to lace their fingers together. “That’s  _ so _ okay. That’s more than okay! Does that mean I can start calling you my boyfriend now, too?”

Nico let a smile creep onto his lips. “Nah, you’re my boyfriend, but I’m still your significant annoyance.” 

Will rolled his eyes, but nothing would be able to take that smile off his face. He tugged on Nico’s hand to pull him close and press a kiss to his cheek. “You got that right.” 

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!!  
> if you havent yet, get out and vote!! your vote counts!! and if you're stressed and terrified about the outcome of today, i'm always available to talk on tumblr @buoyantsaturn!!


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